EVERY child in the North East could receive free school meals throughout primary school under plans to combat poverty levels.

North East mayor Kim McGuinness says she wants to find a way to match London by extending school meal provision.

Pupils in Government-funded schools are automatically entitled to free school meals up to year two, but London mayor Sadiq Khan extended that offer to cover every primary school pupil in the capital last year to help families during the cost of living crisis – and then made a £500 million pledge to continue that for another four years.

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Speaking at Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool, Ms McGuinness admitted that her office does not yet have the funding to do the same for children in the North East.

But she said that working out how to pay for a universal free school meal offer for all primary-age children in the region is something that her new Child Poverty Reduction Unit will be tasked with exploring.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service after Chancellor Rachel Reeves had earlier confirmed that the Government will begin the promised rollout of free breakfast clubs in primary schools from April 2025, Ms McGuinness said: “I don’t think we need any extra powers [to expand free school meal provision], but we don’t have the funding to do it in the way that Sadiq has. 

“We do not have a mechanism for that. But what we would like to do is bring people around a table through our Child Poverty Reduction Unit to see how we can access a range of funding – whether through health, through working with businesses, alongside our local authorities to expand free school meal provision in schools.

“I am delighted that the Government is introducing breakfast clubs. We have heard from the Chancellor that that will start as early as April and that is great for our region, it means children get the best possible start to their school day. 

“But I think that in our region, with local solutions, we could do more. I can’t guarantee that it is something I could just click my fingers and do. But I am certainly committed to working with others to look at a way to do it.”

Ms Reeves confirmed in her conference speech on Monday lunchtime that up to 750 schools in England would be offered the chance to take part in the first stage of the free breakfast clubs rollout next year, which was a key Labour manifesto pledge.

The Chancellor said the policy was “an investment in our young people, an investment in reducing child poverty, an investment in our economy”.